“The vote on that standard” – called ATSC 3.0 – “was nearly as controversial as the net neutrality rollback, but far fewer people are talking about it. So let’s talk about it – and put it in context with the last time the federal government pushed us to upgrade our TVs.”

“More than 40 percent (43 percent) of today’s Fortune 500 had a first- or second-generation immigrant among their founders, even though just 14 percent of the U.S. population is foreign-born. Nearly a fifth (18.4 percent) of these companies were founded by first-generation immigrants, and another quarter (24.8 percent) were founded by their children. All told, these 216 immigrant-founded companies accounted for $5.3 trillion in global revenue in 2016 and employ more than 12 million workers worldwide. Immigrant-founded companies make up more than half of the Fortune 25 (52 percent) and Fortune 35 (57 percent).”

“The museum, which opened in November, fits with a wider cultural movement in the Gulf. Over the past decade, the region has begun a sort of cultural arms race, one that counters its image as a wealthy desert with little culture or history. I.M. Pei’s Museum of Islamic Art opened in 2008 in Doha, and when it is completed in a year or so, Jean Nouvel’s desert-rose design for the National Museum of Qatar may even surpass his vision for the Louvre.”

“An amendment [added by Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kansas) would strike artists’ housing from the list of qualified groups who can benefit from federally subsidized low-income housing. … Moreover, as written, the law would also render all existing artists’ housing developments built with housing credits retroactively ineligible for the benefit – creating a sudden tax liability for the investors who have used these credits for years.”

Marina Harss asked Farrell, who answered – “enigmatically,” notes Harss – “I don’t really know. If I had my choice I would go on forever.” Kennedy Center representatives, for their part, say only that the facility’s upcoming expansion provides “a natural moment to transition” and that Farrell could “expand her teaching” there after construction is completed.

When Aleppo-born director Sam Kadi was making the documentary Little Gandhi, it was too dangerous for him to return to Syria from abroad, so he directed his cameramen via Skype as they tried to avoid sniper fire. And he says that if the film were shown inside Syria now, he would be executed.

The continued growth of the company is rare, given what often happens to dance organizations after their founder dies and there is no new repertory to tour. Ms. Brown, part of an influential generation that ushered in postmodern dance — she was an original member of the experimental 1960s collective Judson Dance Theater — was a maverick.

What now? Sexual predators can be fired; assaulters presumably punished. These measures may bring relief and perhaps justice to victims, and they may scare abusers from doing more harm. But we are talking about the movie business, an industry that has systematically exploited some women while shutting others out of positions of power. Integrating more women into this male-dominated sphere may not automatically right the balance.

Executive director Andre Gremillet said three factors contributed to the shortfall: a decline of $383,000 in Annual Fund giving, a drop of $551,000 in “special” fundraising and, most significantly, a loss of major gifts in support of the orchestra’s Miami residency. Earlier this year, the orchestra reduced its presence in South Florida from four weekends to two.

“Since [Cassandra Clare’s] City of Bones, which published 10 years ago, authors … have made young adult novels a place where queer love stories feel mainstream rather than an exception to the rule. And they’re about far more than coming out. The new generation of LGBT young-adult literature has room for romance, inclusion and happily-ever-after.”

Today, the Colosseum stands bald and bare. But for centuries, it was a wild and overgrown place, and its lost history as a primeval garden ruin has left traces in the art and poetry of countless generations that walked among its stands.

After several seasons of performing to recorded music only due to financial difficulties, the company’s upcoming productions of Romeo and Juliet and Beauty and the Beast will use a live orchestra. “The live music is possible because revenue is beating the ballet’s projections, says board president Jonathan Ledden.”

Gordon Cox: “Both on Broadway and off it, most of the city’s major nonprofits are led by artistic directors whose defining tenures are measured in decades. … In New York, the question of when the city’s most powerful nonprofit [theaters] will change hands is something no one wants to discuss openly but everyone whispers about behind the scenes.”

“I feel heartache for the men, who say they were taken advantage of by someone they looked up to, someone in a position of intimidating authority. But how do Mr. Levine’s countless fans, and I as a critic, reconcile his legacy with what he’s been accused of? Is his work tainted beyond our ability to appreciate the artistry involved?” (The answer: not entirely.)

The work, titled Thérèse Dreaming, depicts an adolescent girl seated in a position that reveals her underwear. “Given the current climate around sexual assault and allegations that become more public each day,” read the petition, “in showcasing this work for the masses without providing any type of clarification, the Met is, perhaps unintentionally, supporting voyeurism and the objectification of children.”

“Censoring Balthus, whose work is disturbing but not pornographic, makes no sense. Removing his work from view would not eliminate the desires he animates and it would probably lead to the loss of other work, which explored other horizons of the illicit. We would lose much of the imperfect progress we made away from shame and silence about desire.”

“The survey, commissioned by [radio station] Classic FM, … explored reasons why people did not attend opera shows as well as general public opinion on the art form. …One in ten of the participants who had attended an opera performance in the past claimed that they ‘felt nervous, self-conscious and like they didn’t fit in’.”

“Lubaina Himid, an artist who makes theatrical, witty and challenging works that address colonial history, racism and institutional invisibility, … won for three exhibitions of her work in Bristol, Oxford and Nottingham.”

“Although he was little known outside the French-speaking world, Mr. Hallyday sold more than 100 million records, acted in more than 30 films and appeared on the cover of Paris Match dozens of times. His career endured so long that when he released an album in 2008 called Ça Ne Finira Jamais (‘It Will Never End’), the title sounded like a simple statement of fact.”

First You TalkTypically, when I see a headline like this: Opera Memphis Kicks Off Effort to Diversify Audience, I cringe. Not because I don’t believe in diversifying our audiences. I clearly do. However, too often it is done … read moreAJBlog: Engaging Matters Published 2017-12-05

“Our study reflects that artists, in the year following the death of a friend or relative, are on average less creative than at other times in their lives,” said economist Kathryn Graddy of Brandeis University. Her analysis, co-authored by Carl Lieberman, is published in the journal Management Science.

“The casting companies have demanded that Broadway producers pay a surcharge of 29% on all currently negotiated fees, adding tens of thousands of dollars to the cost of putting on a show,” the lawsuit said. The lawsuit also alleges that the casting offices have recently begun boycotting new work.

“Many of us are familiar with mind-wandering in a number of guises: procrastination, reflection, meditation, self-flagellation, daydreaming. But while some mental meandering seems fruitful, on other occasions it has the unmistakeable bite of a bad habit, something that holds us back from reaching our full potential. Reverie can be a reprieve from reality and a font of inspiration, yes. But equally familiar is the mind’s tendency to devolve into sour and fruitless rumination when left to its own devices, especially when we’re in the grip of depression, anxiety or obsession.”

Jez Butterworth’s win for The Ferryman marks his third Evening Standard Theatre award, having won most promising playwright in 1995 and best play for Jerusalem in 2009. The Ferryman also won in the director category, with Sam Mendes recognised, and in the emerging talent section, with Tom Glynn-Carney honoured.

“To what degree are cultural institutions responsible for vetting every dollar they receive? Can financially strapped arts organizations be picky about a patron’s source of wealth, and if so, where should they draw the line? At a donor who engages in unlawful or unethical behavior? Or whose conduct is at odds with the institution’s goals?”

“The Knight footprint is everywhere on this cultural renaissance,” says the founder and director of the theater company Miami New Drama. Adds the director of the Pérez Art Museum Miami, “It would be hard to imagine doing the things we do without them. It’s palpable on a daily basis.”

Sign Up For AJ’s Free Newsletters

New York City Ballet performs Ivesiana, a 1954 ballet by George Balanchine set to the music of Charles Ives. The soloists are Sara Leland and Francisco Moncion in “Central Park in the Dark,” Suki Schorer ... read more

There was a mimeo magazine called ppHOO69 *Intercontinental*1969. It was edited by Pradip Choudhuri and published by Subhas Ghose, with a front cover by Alejandro Jodorowsky and a back cover by Claude Pélieu. The poems ... read more

What happened to the genre of academic satire? In the Chronicle Review, Andrew Kay has some ideas; I’d like to offer a different take. Disclaimer: I’m no literary critic. But (a) I am an academic, ... read more

In today’s Wall Street Journal drama column, I review Escape to Margaritaville. Here’s an excerpt. * * * The jukebox musical, in which the back catalogue of a songwriter and/or pop star is repurposed as ... read more

The latest episode of Three on the Aisle, the bimonthly podcast in which Peter Marks, Elisabeth Vincentelli, and I talk about theater in America, is now available on line for listening or downloading. In this ... read more

Howard Da Silva sings “Little Tin Box,” a number by Sheldon Harnick and Jerry Bock from the score of Fiorello!. This performance, introduced by Tony Bennett, was seen on Standing Room Only: Showstoppers, originally telecast ... read more

Their recording histories encompass dozens of collaborations, but in their new albums two of the most prolific recording artists in modern music go it alone. Bill Frisell, Music Is (Okeh) Guitarist ... read more

Is Mieczysław Weinberg (1919-1996) a third Soviet composer to set beside Shostakovich and Prokofiev? An increasing number of musicians seem to think so, including the peerless Latvian-born violinist Gidon Kremer, himself a product of Soviet ... read more

Here’s my list of recommended Broadway, off-Broadway, and out-of-town shows, updated weekly. In all cases, I gave these shows favorable reviews (if sometimes qualifiedly so) in The Wall Street Journal when they opened. For more ... read more

In today’s Wall Street Journal “Sightings” column, I discuss James Levine’s firing. Here’s an excerpt. * * * It was all true. That’s the conclusion of the Metropolitan Opera, which fired James Levine on Monday, ... read more

The Dave Brubeck Quartet plays “St. Louis Blues” on Belgian TV in 1964. Brubeck is the pianist, Paul Desmond the alto saxophonist, Eugene Wright the bassist, and Joe Morello the drummer: (This is the ... read more

In Present What You Do I advocated for early engagement work to flow, where possible, from programming already planned and contextualized around the interests of communities. Serendipitously (there’s a word I don’t often get to use), ... read more